A New Generation of Vampyre
by Riina Kwaad
Summary: 15-year-old Melodie Ray has just been Marked. She slowly realizes she has special affinities for seeing people as they are, with the help of her sister, new friends, and the House of Night's High Priestess, Zoey Redbird. Takes place years after the series
1. Chapter 1

The day I was Marked was the day life as I knew it changed forever. Everyone knew about vampyres. Well, almost everyone. My family tried to seclude me completely from knowing that kind of stuff. They were strictly atheist, my father being a scientist professor and my mother being a science major herself.

But I knew about them, as did my older sister, and their belief of a goddess and whatever else they believed in. Even when my parents to hide them from me.

I didn't expect today to be different than any other day. I had just gotten out of my last class of the day, history. My least favorite subject. I usually stayed at school for about an hour or so afterwards to just chill with my friends and get a head start on my homework before I actually got home. It was on my way to the library that I saw him.

The Tracker.

We were the only two people in the hall. I couldn't help but simply stare at him. Part of me knew who he was, or at least what he was. It was obvious in the way he was Marked, a sapphire-blue crescent moon on his forehead, and additional intricate markings along the sides of his face. Another part of me didn't have any idea what was going on. And I swear there was a third part of me who just wanted to turn around and walk away. But for some reason, I couldn't.

I just stood there as the Tracker took a step toward me. He didn't look much older than me, and I was only 15. He hesitated, as if he wasn't sure whether or not I would run away from him. When I didn't turn to run, he continued to walk towards me. He came towards me until we were mere inches apart.

I looked into his deep icy blue eyes that I could easily get lost in. "What do you want?" I asked him in a voice that sounded a lot less scared than I actually felt.

"Melodie Ray," he said, his voice full of power. He addressed my by my full name. Coming from a vampyre Tracker, that could only mean one thing. "Night has chosen thee; thy death will be thy birth. Night calls to thee; hearken to Her sweet voice. Your destiny awaits you at the House of Night!"

He gently touched my forehead, and that's when I felt the searing pain that came along with being Marked.


	2. Chapter 2

The next thing I remember was waking up in the Tracker's arms. He was carrying me bridal style. I blinked a few times to focus my vision, and realized I was being carried into some sort of weird building that strangely reminded me of a castle. I felt strangely comfortable and relaxed as he carried me further into what I knew was the House of Night.

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty," he said and looked down at me. "How're you feeling?"

I blinked a few more times as I looked up at him. "Tired…" I replied softly. And I _was_ tired. "Where am I?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer. "What time is it?"

"You're at the House of Night," the Tracker told me. "It's almost seven in the evening."

"Evening?" I repeated.

He nodded. "Our times are reversed here. Seven in the evening is like seven in the morning for humans."

"Oh…" was all I could say. I knew this would take some getting used to. "Um, I think you can put me down now," I said, after realizing he was still carrying me.

He smiled. "If you say so," he said and gently let me down on my feet.

I must've been _really_ tired because as soon as I stood on my own, I felt like collapsing right then and there. Okay, I did pull an all-nighter last night, but I've never felt this bad before.

I felt a little dizzy as I walked forward with him. I just decided to shake it off for now.

He looked over at me as we kept walking. "You okay? You don't look so good."

"I don't _feel_ so good," I responded.

"How were you feeling before I Marked you?"

I shrugged. "Fine, I guess. A little stressed from school, but otherwise fine. Why?"

He stopped and turned toward me. "So this feeling isn't something that's still hanging around from your human life?"

The way he said "your human life" felt weird to me. I had to remember that technically I wasn't human anymore. I was a vampyre. Or, a fledging, technically.

I mentally shook myself out of my internal babble, and shook my head in response to his question. "I don't think so. I mean, I felt just fine before you came and… uh…" I hesitated.

He nodded. "Before I Marked you."

"Yeah, that," I said kind of moronically. This vampyre stuff was going to take some getting used to.

"I wonder if it's possible to reject the Change so early on…" he murmured, more to himself than to me I assumed.

But I knew what happened to fledglings whose bodies rejected the Change. My sister explained it to me about a year ago, after she was Marked.

"Hey!" I nearly blurted out after remembering that my sister would be here too. "Do you know someone here named Harmoni? With an _I_ at the end?"

"Harmoni Ray?" he asked. "You mean your sister?"

I nodded. "How did you know she was my sister?"

"She's a fourth former here," he replied. "She talks about you all the time." He kind of smiled, and by his expression I could tell he thought that her talking about me was funny.

I blinked. "She talks about me?"

He nodded. "She was actually wondering when Nyx was decided it was time to Mark you as one of us. You should've seen her reaction when our High Priestess told her you were ready." He let out a small laugh.

I rolled my eyes, but smiled nonetheless. I was really close to my sister. I wasn't surprised she was happy I'd be here. Then I felt a wave of uneasiness come over me, and I felt like collapsing again. I put my hand to my head, feeling a little disoriented. I swear, I could see everything around me start to spin.

He put his hand on my shoulder. "Hey, you okay? What's wrong?"

I shook my head. "I don't feel so good…"

"C'mon," he said and picked me up again, bridal style. "I'm taking you to see the High Priestess."

I just relaxed in his arms and closed my eyes. Everything seemed really abstract right then. It was like I was asleep, but I was aware of it. I heard some concerned murmurs from voices I didn't recognize, and then the opening of a door. I was being laid down on a bed of some sort, feeling like I was in some kind of hospital like place. I didn't want to open my eyes. I couldn't. I just wanted to lay down and sleep…

"Go get Zoey," I heard the Tracker say.


	3. Chapter 3

**3.**

I woke up a while later, definitely feeling better but still a little drained. When I opened my eyes, I looked around the room only to see that no one was there. I tried sitting up when suddenly a set of double doors opened somewhere off to my right. I blinked a few times to clear my slightly fuzzy vision.

The woman who walked in was absolutely beautiful. She had smooth, dark hair that went down to her waist. When I saw her face, I was amazed at the intricate swirls and symbols framing her eyes and cheeks. Her dress hung just below her shoulders, revealing even more ornate Marks that came down from her neck to her shoulders. She looked like she was in her early twenties, and she was one of the most beautiful women I'd ever seen. She had a kind of faint white glow around her that I couldn't quite place…

She strode towards me, smiling. Her eyes were warm, welcoming. "Merry meet, Melodie," she said as she extended her hand towards me. "My name Is Zoey Redbird, High Priestess of this House of Night."

"Uh, hi…" I replied moronically as I extended my own hand to shake hers. Instead of taking my hand, she gripped my forearm for a moment before letting go. It was a little weird, I admit. But it didn't feel bizarre. It felt right, in a way.

It was then that the double doors burst open behind her and I heard a voice that was all too familiar to me.

"Melodie!" my sister blurted, and ran to my side. "I heard what happened. Are you okay?" She sounded like I was in some sort of tragic accident or something.

I couldn't help but smile at her. "I'm fine, Harmoni." When I looked at her, actually _looked_ at her, I saw a similar glow around her that I saw around Zoey. The main difference was that the air around her was tinted with a faint yellow glow, rather than white.

She sighed in relief. Then she noticed Zoey standing next to me. She quickly faced her, putting her right fist over her heart, and bowed her head. "Merry meet, Zoey," she said.

Zoey let out a small laugh laugh before nodding in response. "Merry meet, Harmoni. Melodie's doing fine. You don't need to worry."

She looked up at her. "So she's not rejecting the Change?" she asked worriedly.

Zoey shook her head. "No, her body hasn't rejected the Change. I think the transition from human to fledgling has just worn her out." She spoke in a comforting voice, reassuring Harmoni of any doubts she might, and probably did, have.

She let out another sigh of relief. "That's good. I wouldn't want my sister to die the first day she gets here." She let out a small, nervous laugh. But I could tell she was feeling better than she was about five minutes ago.

I smiled at her. "Nice to see you again too, Harmoni," I said sort of sarcastically.

She smiled down at me, and I could almost swear I saw tears forming in her eyes. She sat down next to me on the bed and gave me the biggest hug of the century. "I missed you so much…" she whispered to me.

I hugged her equally as much and replied, "I missed you too."

"Harmoni," Zoey said. "Would you give me a moment to talk to Melodie alone?"

Harmoni sniffled and pulled away from me, and stood up from off the bed. "Sure," she nodded. "Hey, um, do you think she can room with me? You know, after she's all done here."

Zoey smiled sweetly at her. "Of course. I'll personally show her to the dorm after I've talked to her."

She smiled and placed her fist over her heart again, nodding to Zoey. Then she ran out of the double doors she came in through earlier.

Zoey turned to me and smiled. She sat on one of the chairs next to the bed before asking, "How're you feeling, Melodie?"

I shrugged. "Fine, I guess… What happened?"

Her smile turned into a look of concern. "I was hoping you could tell me that. You kind of…fainted."

I blinked. "Fainted?"

She nodded. "What do you remember before you passed out?"

I looked down as I tried to remember what happened. "I remember the Tracker was carrying me here after he Marked me. I woke up feeling kind of tired." I looked back up at her before continuing. "I didn't feel so good after he put me down, and the next thing I know, I'm waking up in here," I shrugged. "I'm guessing that's not normal?"

"Usually fledglings might experience a short moment of unconsciousness after they're Marked, but after that they're usually quite healthy. You shouldn't have passed out, let alone passed out twice."

I shrugged again. "I mean, I pulled an all-nighter last night before going to school, and I was kind of tired today."

She nodded. "That's a theory. Usually however, a fledgling's body will automatically adjust to the time change."

"Well I feel fine now," I told her. "I guess I just needed a nap." I let out a small, nervous laugh. I didn't want to think something was wrong with me the first day of being a vampyre, or a fledgling, or whatever I was.

At first she didn't seem convinced, then she smiled her sweet, motherly smile at me. "Well, you seem fine now. Shall we show you to your new room?" she said as she stood up.

I nodded, and stood from the bed. I followed her to the double doors, which she held open for me.

"Do all vampyres glow?" I asked her after a moment of awkward silence while walking down one of the many dark hallways. I was remembering how I saw a faint yellow glow around Harmoni, and a slightly brighter white glow around Zoey.

"Well, a vampyre's complexion is clearer's than the average human, and others have long commented on our healthy glow that radiates from our skin."

I shook my head. "No, I mean like… glow-in-the-dark kind of glow."

She stopped walking and gave me a strange, curious look. I stopped as well and looked up at her.

"Let me guess," I said flatly. "Vampyres don't glow?"

"No, we don't," she replied.

I shrugged. "I'm just telling you what I saw. Harmoni had some kind of yellowish glow around her when she came to see me. You didn't see that?"

She shook her head. "I'm afraid I didn't." She looked around where we were and stopped at another fledgling. "Does he 'glow' as well?"

I followed her gaze to a boy, maybe a few years older than myself, who was walking down the hall with another boy who looked close to his age walking next to him, carrying a few books in his arms. I nodded. "There's a kind of purple glow around him," I told her. "And a kind of blue glow around the boy next to him."

It was then she smiled at me. "It's been a while since this has happened, but I believe Nyx has gifted you with an affinity for auras, Melodie."


	4. Chapter 4

I blinked, confused. "Auras?" I repeated.

She smiled and nodded. "A kind of energy a person gives off."

"And I have a… a _what_ for them?"

"Our Goddess has given you an affinity for them," she explained. "You can see people and physically sense the essence of who they are."

"Oh." I blinked. I wasn't quite sure what I should've said to her, so instead I asked her, "Do you have an affinity?"

Her smile was warm, like she was remembering something pleasant from her past. "Yes, I do," she responded. "Nyx has graciously gifted me with an affinity for all five of the elements. Air, fire, water, earth, and spirit."

"Wow, that… that's amazing!" I blurted. Embarrassed, I blushed. Of course _she_ knew it was amazing. She was the one with the affinity, after all.

She let out a small laugh. "Yes, Melodie, it is amazing indeed. Our goddess is gracious. I think you'll learn to love her in no time.

"But enough about me," she continued. "I'd like to know more about you."

"Oh, well…" I hesitated awkwardly. "I don't find myself all that interesting, to be honest." I shrugged.

She smiled as if I were telling a joke. "Is that so? Well, tell me about yourself, anyway," she said as she sat on a stone bench in the hall and gestured for me to sit next to her. "Do you like animals?"

I nodded. "Yeah, animals are great. I especially like cats, since they're so easy to talk to. They're extremely cute, too."

And as if on cue, a relatively large orange ball of fur ran down the hall and leaped into Zoey's lap. With a laugh, Zoey petted the fuzzy looking puffball that I realized to be a cat.

"Hello, Nala," Zoey said. "Have you been playing nicely with Maleficent?"

Nala, Zoey's cat I presumed, gave a little huff in response, and laid down with her head in her paws.

I blinked. So if this was Nala, who was Maleficent? And if Maleficent was a cat, who in their right mind would name a cat Maleficent?

"Melodie, I'd like you to meet Nala. I'd say she was my cat, but that would be inaccurate," she laughed.

"What do you mean? She's not yours?"

"Not in the sense you're thinking," she explained. "When a cat chooses you here at the House of Night, you become theirs; it doesn't work the other way around. She becomes your companion, but you do not become her owner."

I slowly nodded in understanding. "Okay, I think I get it… So when did Nala choose you?"

"When I was still a young fledgling here, I saw Nala in a dream. Not long after, she came towards me and I knew she'd chosen me."

"So how do I know when a cat's chosen me?" I inquired. This new concept seemed interesting to me; I'd never though about cats owning people before.

"You'll know," she replied. Her smile mirrored in her eyes. "It's just a feeling you get, and it feels right."

"Oh…" I wondered what my cat would look like. Would she be as fuzzy as Nala? What color would she be? Would she even be a she?

"Melodi…" Zoey said, as her smile faced from her face. "I'm a little concerned…"

"What about?" I asked. The look on her face and the say she was speaking sent alarms ringing in my head.

"Usually, prior to being marked, humans show symptoms of what is usually believed to be the common cold. And you say you displayed no symptoms of being sick? None at all?"

I shook my head, not sure where she was going. "Not that I can remember," I told her.

"Hmm…" She absentmindedly stroked Nala as she contemplated. "I wonder…"

"There's nothing wrong with me, is there?" I asked, my worry growing.

She looked at me; a look of surprise on her face, like what I asked her had surprised her. "No, of course not. I mean, you're alive here, healthy, aren't you?"

"More or less, I guess; alive being the operative word."

Zoey laughed at my joke, and stood up, taking Nala in her arms. "Let's show you to your room, shall we?"

"What about school?" I asked, not sure whether I should be nervous or eager to experience my first day at vampyre school.

She smiled, "Seeing as this is your first day at our House of Night, and the school day is halfway over anyway, I'll allow you to take the rest of this day to settle in to your room and get used to this place before throwing you into class."

I smiled nervously, and stood to follow her down the hall and up a flight of stairs to a set of glass double doors.

* * *

**_Author's Notes_**_: Sorry I haven't updated this one recently, or any of my other ones for that matter... I've been extremely busy lately. Thank you to **LucyReywood** for giving me the motivation to update this fanfic! :D_

_And a special thanks to **Teddy R. Lupin** for supporting me and inspiring me to be the great author you say I am! :D 3_


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